Record card feeding mechanism



Sept. 4, 1951 A. w. MILLS RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheetl1 Filed Oct. 4, 1945 INVENTOR Ami/w /l/. Aff/La ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1951A. w. MILLS RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4,1945 Fira. 2

Sept. 4, 1951 A. w. MILLS 2,566,951

RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 4. 1945 55FIG. 2a.

ATTORN EY A. w. M|| Ls 2,566,951

RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM Sept. 4, 1951 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 0017.4. 1945 Qi Q 1 lig II l 'l l. l l Q, l l f /Q w Q l R 9 1% T I R R l 1 ll l .39 50 t my Flic-5.3.

Sept 4, 1951 A. w. MILLS 2,566,951

RECORD .CARD FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 4, 1945 9 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR Sept. 4, 1951 A. w. MILLS RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 9Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 4. 1945 A mm o@ ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1951 A. w.MILLS RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM Filed oct. 4, 1.945

9 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR ALBERT /4/. M/Ls ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1951 A. w.MILLS RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 4, 1945lNvENToR ALBERT W /V/'f/ Ls Elm/W 'ATi'oRNEY 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Sept. 4,1951 Filed oct. 4, 1945 m c W 0 w N 2 N T W D s Q c o E L M M D 5 u E ms o R c W a m W c E N w M G. Q m n C ll. l G f I 0 F F o M m m 7 ws R np 10M M o w u mm n@ m s M E 5 CNL KKK@ p w H w p cm pf N l n w L 0 x m RC @JHM W O 4/ 0 9 .v Jl 6 N 4 4 M M3 nm M mf W5 A r s A A M6 R C TM C G0% R WA PA UM @u DE sc oc f AA Ec R K C K A@ D M c w MM v L C R u o 1 06A 0,. n A 5m 6? n@ Wm C Nm C Patented Sept. 4, 1951 vUNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE RECORD CARD FEEDING MECHANISM Albert W. Mills, Endicott,N. Y., assigner to International Business Machines Corporation, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 4, 1945,Serial No. 620,267

4 Claims. l f

This invention relates to feeding mechanism and more particularly tofeeding mechanism for handling perforated record cards.

Record card feeding mechanisms are generally provided with devices forfeeding cards from a hopper, one by one, to a card sensing station wheresensing devices sense or read the data perforated in the cards. The cardis held in the sensing position for a short period or part of a cycle ofoperation and then its movement is resumed to advance it to a furthersensing station or to a discharge stacker or hopper.

The principal object of this invention is to provide improved mechanismfor feeding a record card from a supply hopper to a sensing station.

A more specific object is to provide an improved shuttle mechanism forpositively advancing a card to the sensing station and including devicesfor accurately aligning the card in a direction transverse to itsdirection of travel.

A still more specific object is to provide devices for coordinating thecard feeding and sensing operations, whereby the sensing devices willserve to maintain the card in sensing position independently of thefeeding or advancing devices.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example, the principle of tie invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an outside elevation of the apparatus.

Figs. 2 and 2a taken together form a sectional elevation taken on lines2,2a-2,2a of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a plan elevation with the sensing devices removed to show thecard feeding shuttles.

Figs. 4 and 4a taken together form a sectional elevation of theapparatus showing the direction of movement of the cards therethrough.

Fig. 5 is a further sectional elevation with the sensing brushes raisedout of sensing position.

Figs. 6 and '7 are further detail views of the shuttle mechanism and thecard clip operating devices.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on lines 8-8 of Fig. 1A

Fig. 9 is a timing chart of a cycle of operation showing the relativetime of operation of the various component parts of the apparatus.

In the drawings (Figs. l and 2), I0 represents the main drive shaft ofthe apparatus, which shaft may be driven from any suitable source ofpower. Aflixed to the shaft is a cam II which oscillates a spring urgedfollower I2 and a shaft I3 to which there are secured arcuate racks I4(Fig. 4a), each meshing with a reciprocable slide I5 beneath a hopper I6containing record cards to be analyzed. Attached to slide I5 is a pickerknife I1 which, as the slide moves to the left, engages and advances thelowermost card through a throat formed by roller I8 and a guide I9.

The advanced card is gripped by pairs of rollers 20 on shaft I0 andshaft 2l driven from shaft I0, through gears 22. Shaft 2I is pressedtoward shaft I0 by the usual spring and bearing 23. The rollers 20advance the card to a position designated CI in Fig. 5 and from here itwill be advanced to a position C2, then to a position C3, and then tothe discharge devices.

The mechanism for advancing the card from its CI position includes apair of shuttles 25 of U-shaped cross-section. These shuttles areslidable on rollers 26 (Fig. 8) and each has a pin 21 (Fig. 5) connectedto an arm 28 secured on a rod 29.

To the extremity of rod 29 is secured an arm 39 (Fig. 1) which has abell crank 3| adjustably pivoted thereto at 32. A link 33 extends to abifurcated follower lever 34 Whose rollers 35 engage a pair ofcomplementary cams 36 secured to main drive shaft III. Thus, as shaft I0revolves, shuttles 25 are reciprocated, with pins 21 therein moving in astraight line. To enable such movement, rod 29 is supported in a pair ofarms 31 pivoted at 38 and biased upwardly by springs 394 In Fig. 9 therelative timing of the operation of the picker and shuttle isrepresented and indicates that the card shuttle moves forward or awayfrom the card hopper as the picker advances a card and then moves backor toward `the picker as the rollers rapidly feed the card ahead, sothat at the end of a cycle the shuttles are in their extreme right handposition and the card is in its CI position.

The right end of each shuttle (Fig. 5) has a finger 40 pivoted thereto,spring biased in a counterclockwise direction and a second finger 4Ispring-biased in a clockwise direction. Rollers 42 on these fingers rideon tracks 43 supported on bell cranks 45 connected together by a link 46for parallel movement. A shaft 41 'has the two right hand bell crankssecured thereto and in Fig. 7 one of the bell cranks has a third armprovided with a roller 48 engaging a cam 49 on shaft I0.

When roller 48 rides on the low portion of cam 49, track 43 is in itslowered position and ngers or clips 40, 4I'are in the position shown inFig. 5,

' where they engage the left and right edges o1' the card in its Clposition.

Thus, during the next cycle as shuttle 25 moves to the leit, clips 40,4| move the card therewith to the C2 position. This period is denoted inFig. 9 by the portion designated clips up. Thereafter, cam 49 causeselevation of track 43 which in turn rocks the clips 40, 4I to depresstheir outer ends beneath the lower surface of the card. They remain insuch position while the shuttle returns to the right and While a secondcard/is advanced to the Cl position. When the shuttle reachesits extremeposition, the cam 49 again releases the clips and they accordinglyengage the leading and trailing edges of the second card and advance itto the C2 position during the next stroke of the shuttles.l

A similar pair of clips or fingers 50, 5I is also pivoted on eachshuttle 25 and operated in the same manner as clips 40, 4I to advancethe card from the C2 to the C3 position. Finger 5| has an extension 5|awhich serves to engage the right edge of the card to advance it from itsC3 position, through a guide 53 and into clips 54 of a stacker drum 55.

By means of the mechanism thus far explained, each card in turn advancedfrom hopper I6 -to positions CI, C2 and C3 in succession and then to thestacker and, as seen from Fig. 9, the cards remain in the Cl, C2 and,C3positions for the greater part of a cycle.

Referring to Fig. 8, when the card is in its CI position (and also whenin its C2 and C3 positions), its lies between a stationary plate 51 anda plate 58 pivoted on a rod 59. A roller 60 pivoted on plate 58 rides ona vcam 6| secured to one of the shuttles and a spring 62 serves to biasthe plate counterclockwise. As seen from Fig. '1, cam 6| holds roller 60up and consequently holds plate 58 away from the card when the shuttleis to the right and permits the roller to move down during the last partof the shuttle stroke.

The relative timing is indicated in Fig. 9 where it is to be noted thatthe card aligning cam 6| operates to move the cardk sidewise againststationary plate 51 while it is still held by the feeding clips andWhile the card is in forward motion. This positions the cards inaccurate alignment with respect to sets of sensing brushes, which senseperforations in the cards during the period that the shuttles return.

Located above the card positions C2 and C3 (Figs. 4 and 4a) are cardsensing brushes 65 arranged in columns and rows to correspond to theusual columns and rows of perforation receiving positions on the cards.Each row of brushes 65 is mounted on an angular bar 66 pivoted at 61 tothe frame 68. The upper ends of bars 66 are engaged by a pair of slottedbars 69, each bar 69 engagirg alternate bars 66. These bars 69 arehorizontally slidable to rock bars 66 about pivots 61 and thus raise theends of brushes 65 off the cards. The means for ellecting such movementincludes a cam 10 (Fig. 2a) on shaft I0, which rocks a spring-urged bellcrank follower 1l having a slot 12 thereon. A pin 13 riding in the slotis secured in an arm 14 secured to shaft 15. Arm 16 also secured to thisshaft has connection at 11 with bars 66 to reciprocate the same.

Beneath the cards at the C2 and C3 positions are contact elements 19embedded in an insulating block 80 and, when the brushes 65 are in theirdown position as shown in Fig. 4a, a brush 65 in any position coincidingwith a perforation in the card will make an electrical connectionthrough such perforation with an insert 19. The

beneath the positioned cards, the brushes remain in contact with thecards, and it is during this period in the cycle that circuits may becompleted through the card perforations.

It is to be particularly noted as indicated along line (Fig. 9) that thecard clips start to move away from the card just as the brushes contactit and thereby hold the card in sensing position and that they so holdit until the next set of clips grip it to advance the card further.Thus, the brushes serve to hold as well as sense the card.

The drive for the stacker drum 55 is shown in Fig. 2a where a bevel gear82 on shaft I 0 drives bevel gear 83 on ashaft 84 and a pair of bevelgears 85 complete the drive connection.

While there have been shown anddescribed and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of theinvention as applied to a singlemodication, it willbe understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes inthe form and details ofthe device illustrated and in its operation maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only asindicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a card handling apparatus having a picker for advancing a cardfrom a supply hopper and rollers to receive the card and lpropel italong a plane, in combination with a shuttle for receiving the card fromsaid rollers, clips on the shuttle resiliently engageable with theforward and trailing edges of the card to grip and secure the card tothe shuttle, means for advancing the shuttle in the direction of feed ofthe card, means comprising sensing brushes for engaging the card at thetermination of its advance by the shuttle to hold it in advanceposition, and means effective concurrently with said holding fordisengaging the clips from the card and returning the shuttle to itsinitial card receiving position.

2. 'I'he invention set forth in claim l in which the clips comprisefingers plvoted on the shuttle on one side of the card and projectedinto the plane thereof, and the means for disengaging the clipscomprises cam mechanism for rocking the clips about their pivots to rockthe fingers out of the plane of the card.

3. The invention set forth in claim l in which aligning mechanism isprovided to effect a shift of the card in a direction transverse to itsdi` rection of feeding, and means for operating said aligning mechanismwhile the card is advancing to its sensing position.

4. The invention .set forth in claim 1 in which a stationary aligningmember is located to one side of the plane of travel of the card andextending in the direction thereof, and means operative as the card isadvanced by the shuttle forI bearing against the card to slide it in theshuttle in a direction transverse to the direc- ALBERT W. MILLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent.:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Comly Dec. 31, 1895 Number 6 NameDate Langston Aug. 17, 1915 Widell May 30, 1922 Last Aug. 20, 1929Broadmeyer Sept. 17, 1929 Wheeler Oct. 15. 1929 Kruse Apr. 15, 1930Reifsnyder June 12, 1934 Johnston Sept. 1, 1936 Batbey et -a1. Sept. 23,1941

